Basic Principles of Romantic Inertia
by oneofthemuses
Summary: Based on a Ficcy Friday prompt by leap of faith81: "1. Five times Jeff and Annie are TOTALLY NOT ON A DATE, OK? JEEZ! And one time they actually are."


**Word Count**: 3287  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Community nor do I make any profit from this work. Just playing in someone else's sandbox.

* * *

_May 30th, 2013_

He calls her up a week after their slightly disastrous celebratory graduation dinner to complain about said dinner. He can hear her moving around, the shift of fabric and the swish of her hair loud through the phone, as she listens to his whining. He tells her that was not how he imagined his triumphant and long-awaited meal and he hears her go silent.

"What, Annie? Are you going to yell at me?" He can practically hear her eye roll.

"No, Jeff, you're right. I mean, we had a good time and that's all that _should_ matter but... I know it's not what you had planned, what you wanted." He knows she's not finished, can imagine her biting her lip as she thinks. "Look, I didn't get you a graduation present because I wanted to get you something... Useful. But maybe a proper graduation dinner _is_ useful. Closure! A pat on the back, you know? So how about I take you out to dinner? A nice dinner!"

"Not Senor Kevin's?" He can't help that his voice is slightly whiny, he really can't. He pretty much hates that place now.

"Not Senor Kevin's, I promise. It's only 2PM, it's a Thursday... Let me make reservations and you go make yourself pretty. I'll text you the details."

"I know your car is making that weird noise, has Troy looked at it yet?"

"No, hasn't had a chance, why?"

"I'll pick you up on my way, then. It's the least I can... It wouldn't do to have your car breakdown on the way to the restaurant."

"Okay. Sounds good. Now go! I know how long it takes you to get your facial scruff just right." He can hear the laughter in her voice and his smile widens in reply. They say goodbye and Jeff hustles himself into the bathroom. His hair is just as sculpted as his abs and that kind of perfection takes time.

_June 11th, 2013_

He sees her in the grocery store by herself and looks around for Troy and Abed but he can't spot them. Shrugging to himself, he does his best to sneak up on her and his reward is a stifled shriek. She doesn't appreciate his laughter, apparently, because when she slaps at his chest, it actually stings. He grabs her hands to stop her and chokes down his laughter. He summons what he hopes is an appropriately contrite expression but she doesn't seem to buy it based on her glare.

"I'm sorry, Annie." She continues to glare at him and a giggle finds its way out of him despite his best efforts. He coughs to break his punch-drunk reaction. "I'm serious. Please forgive me." She huffs at him but stops pulling away so he takes it as a good sign and looks around again. "Where are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?"

"They're doing research for Abed's next film project. Observing family dynamics in middle-class America." Jeff nods like he understands but Annie has known him for four years and she explains further without prompting. "Basically, they're over at Shirley's playing with Elijah and Jordan. I think they're having dinner with her, too."

"Ah. Are you headed there tonight?" She shakes her head in the negative.

"No, Shirley told me to come over but I don't think I can handle a house full of people today. It's been a long week." Jeff eyes her in concern.

"It's Tuesday, Annie." She frowns.

"Really? Yeah, I guess that should tell you what I mean… I'm working, and I'm volunteering and I'm taking summer classes to make up my degree requirements." He peeks into her shopping basket and scoffs.

"And you're eating like a bird." She follows his gaze and wrinkles her nose at him.

"I'm just picking up some quick basics. Since Abed and Troy aren't home and it's just me, I'm not going to bother cooking tonight." It's his turn to shake his head in consternation.

"Alright, c'mon, did you bring your car?" She looks at him in confusion but shakes her head no as he hustles her to the check-out. "You're coming home with me, then, and I'll make you dinner."

"Jeff, I'm not done shopping!" He raises an eyebrow and she sighs. "Okay, so I was only going to buy some chocolate but still." He grabs two bars of Hershey's and puts it in with his groceries, then empties her basket on to the conveyor belt too because it only has yogurt and pitas and he's not waiting here longer than he has to. He ignores her squawks of protest and in ten minutes, they're in his car driving toward his apartment.

She eyes him balefully from the passenger seat, arms crossed against her chest, a hair away from full-on pouting.

"I didn't know you could cook."

"I can."

"Hmph."

He hides his smile.

_June 19th, 2013_

He's had a tough day and the only thing he can think of to make it better is hanging out with friends or alcohol, the best option being a combination of the two. The closest bar is, well, closer than his friends are so he heads over, sending out a mass text as he goes. He gets no responses and decides that alcohol was clearly the better choice anyway since it's available on demand.

Thirty minutes later, he's a single drink in and he's morosely contemplating his second scotch that sits in front of him, untouched, when he feels a hand on his arm. He looks up to find Annie standing there, a vision in white. He sits there, stunned, and a worried look crosses her face as she takes him in.

"How much have you had to drink?" She's scanning his face and he waves away her concern, jolting into awareness.

"This is only my second. I just didn't think anyone was coming." She nods in understanding at his explanation. "I'm glad you're here." They share a smile and he moves over to make room for her in the little booth.

"Yeah, I stopped at home to change because my work clothes weren't really… Appropriate and I thought I'd be here sooner so I didn't text you but Troy and Abed were headed out too and they begged and pleaded for a ride and when those two give you the puppy dog eyes together, it's scary effective!" Her explanation flows out in a single breath and she ends on a surprised exclamation that makes Jeff feel suddenly inexplicably better, like yeah, his day sucked, but his night just got a whole lot better.

"Sounds like you need a drink. What'll you have, milady?" Rather than answer, she takes the scotch out of his hand and sips delicately. Her tongue snakes out to catch the remnants left on her lower lip and Jeff feels his breath catch.

"I'll stick with scotch tonight." She smiles without guile and he can't stop the smile that spreads across his face in response. A deep breath helps him focus despite the sensation of weightlessness that seems to fill him.

"As you wish, milady."

_June 24th, 2013_

When they meet up on Monday, it's planned.

Even though he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that she worked pretty close to him, it hadn't really registered. But it turns out, they've both been wanting to try the new Vietnamese place that's about halfway between their respective workplaces. It seems logical to grab dinner after work one day.

They came up with the plan when they were out at the bar on Wednesday and sent out a text that same night while still there but everyone had ready a reason they couldn't attend and Shirley added an extra layer of guilt to her response, subtly chastising them for eating out anywhere besides Shirley's Sandwiches. They decided to go ahead and do it anyway.

So it's just the two of them on Monday evening. Which is fine and dandy and totally A-OK because they're friends and they've been hanging out a lot lately because duh doy, that's what friends do. The restaurant isn't that busy at 6:00PM on a weeknight and Jeff appreciates the quiet. Annie clearly does too because as soon as she's seated, she lets out a long sigh.

"It's so nice to be somewhere cool and quiet and that doesn't have people constantly harassing you for answers."

"Harassing you?" He can't help the tinge of protectiveness in his words but he's a lawyer again and he can build a criminal case out of nothing if he has to.

"It's my job, Jeff. I'm supposed to have answers but I don't and lawyers and police officers and private customers… Everyone wants to have their materials processed right away and it's frustrating. People are rude!" He smiles, just a little, at her exasperation. She calms down almost immediately. "So it's nice. To be here." He looks her over and a question pops, unbidden, into his head.

"Hey, so, at the bar last week you said your work clothes weren't appropriate, but. You look nice." Okay, so he didn't exactly phrase it as a question but Annie gets it anyway. She blushes slightly but offers an explanation.

"Yeah… You were at a bar and I didn't want to look too casual or bland next to you with your fancy suit so I stopped at home and changed. Today, I knew we were grabbing dinner after work so I dressed for it." He's only a tiny bit disappointed that she didn't want to look nice _for_ him but he pushes it down and ignores it because now's not the time for self-analysis. Instead, he watches Annie's animated gestures as she tells him about her day and it's enough. For now.

_June 28th, 2013_

She invites him over for a movie night on Friday. It happens via text at lunchtime and he doesn't have any other plans so he quickly agrees and asks if he needs to bring anything. A short text back says that nothing is required but if he wants more for dinner than pita chips and hummus, it's on him.

He texts her back accusing her of having an elaborate plan to never buy groceries. She neither confirms nor denies which is as good as an admission of guilt as far as Jeff is concerned. It's not until he's heading out from his apartment, having changed into jeans and a t-shirt, that he thinks to ask her how many people are attending. Britta is cutthroat about eggrolls and he'd rather _never be stabbed by a fork again_ if he can help it.

A second later his phone buzzes and he merely nods to himself upon reading that'll just be the two of them because Shirley has a date with Andre, Britta has plans with a friend and her roommates haven't responded to her messages. Pierce is a moot point.

He orders the orange chicken because Annie and him are the only ones who ever eat it and he's on his way, arriving promptly at 7PM as requested. Annie greets him at the door, taking the bags of food out of his hands, and unpacking it on the table.

"No hot plans tonight?" His question garners a lightning-quick smile.

"Are you saying you aren't hot?" His eyes widen as he's caught off guard, just for a second.

"I… Have nothing. Well played, Edison, well-played." She curtsies and he's caught off guard again because the gesture is both quintessentially Annie and yet, somehow, utterly mocking. A laugh emerges, surprising him, and he sees Annie hide her own laughter. "Start eating so you'll quit talking." She laughs aloud then.

"Your wits deserting you in your old age, Jeff?" He catches her eye, unsure if she meant to hurt him or if it was accidental but her expression is smooth, too smooth, which means there's some kind of double-meaning and he suddenly gets the impression that his answer _matters_ in some way that he's unaware of.

"Even if I was old, which I'm not, my wits would never desert something this magnificent." He points to himself and her expression is suddenly clear as day, sunny and warm and inviting.

"Oh, I agree." Any further conversation is interrupted by the front door swinging open and Troy and Abed coming in, bringing noise and real life with them. Annie turns, surprised, to greet them. "Hey, guys, we were just about to have dinner, want to join us?"

Abed's stare moves from them to the food and back before he shakes his head in the negative, Troy following suit.

"No, thanks. We just came home to drop this stuff off." He holds up a sheaf of papers and a bag that appears to be filled with props of some sort. "We're going to Pierce's because he offered free food and a chance to scout his mansion for shooting locations." They both start to move past, Troy eating the piece of chicken right off Annie's chopsticks which she then brandishes threateningly in his direction.

"Sorry for the interruption, we didn't know you'd be having your date here." It's Troy's apology, thrown over his shoulder, that causes both Annie and Jeff to do a double-take. Jeff stares at Annie, unsure of what to say, but she has no such hesitation.

"It's no problem, Troy, but… We're not on a date." Abed has already disappeared into the blanket fort but Troy stops, brow furrowed in confusion, to address Annie.

"You didn't go _out_ but I think it still counts. Not every date has to be expensive or involve flowers." His tone is vaguely condescending but in the interest of understanding what's going on, they both resolve to let it go. "I learned that from Britta." Annie nods sympathetically before launching into the next question-statement.

"That's true, Troy, but… We haven't been on any dates before this either." Troy stares at them nonplused.

"Are you sure? Because you took him out to dinner." Annie shakes her head as if Troy is naïve and it's oh-so-cute.

"Because he wouldn't stop whining about Senor Kevin's." Troy nods as if that makes sense but it's clear he's still confused.

"What about when you cooked her dinner? At your apartment." His gaze shifts to Jeff this time and Jeff shrugs modestly.

"She was only buying yogurt and pitas and chocolate. She was going to starve rather than cook!" Annie rolls her eyes but stays silent and Troy nods slowly in acceptance. Except not.

"Annie, you dressed up to meet him at a bar for drinks."

"I wasn't dressed appropriately for going out to a bar! I'm not going to sit beside a guy who wears $3000 suits in my blah pants and responsible work shirt!" Troy's eyes flit back and forth disbelievingly between them but he forges on anyway.

"And when you made plans for dinner on Monday?" Annie shrugs so it's left to Jeff to refute that one.

"We both like Vietnamese food and it's halfway between our workplaces so it was convenient. We invited you guys!" Troy looks like he has some choice words to share but he refrains, deciding instead to fire the last bullet he has in the chamber.

"And tonight? A movie night on a Friday?"

"We didn't have any other plans! And again, we invited everyone!"

"Man, you guys have an excuse for everything... But I'm just calling it like I see it. Maybe everything you say is true, but…" He looks at them, some mix of pity and laughter in his gaze, like he's about to drop some home truths on them. "Maybe everything I said is true too. 'Cause you guys are on a date." Abed pops out of the blanketfort and nods at Jeff and Annie, shoots his finger guns at Troy, and the two head out without another word.

_July 6th, 2013_

It's nearing the end of summer and it's also the middle of the long weekend when it finally happens. Annie twists nervously in front of her full-length mirror before she decides it wouldn't hurt to refresh her lipgloss because she needs to occupy her hands.

She and Jeff are about to go on their first official date.

Annie knows, _knows in her bones_, that she shouldn't be nervous because, as it turns out, Troy was right all along, but she can't control the butterflies and the anticipation that's building because she's been waiting for this night, just a tiny bit, for three years. Three years of hopes and bitter disappointments and expectations and missed opportunities are culminating in this date and… She's scared. Because that's a lot of weight for one date to carry.

The knock at the door breaks her train of thought and she checks her appearance once more before she moves toward the door. Abed and Troy have already answered and they're standing there, wearing their dinner party jackets, and interrogating Jeff about his intentions and informing him of her curfew and assuring him with veiled threats that if he doesn't bring their baby girl home at a reasonable hour, he'll have more than her morning breath to worry about.

Annie groans silently and whacks them both on the shoulder as she passes.

"You two, go!" She turns an unrestrained smile on Jeff. "Hi." He smiles back and just stares. She can't really fault him because she's doing the same.

"Hi." He shakes his head as if to clear it and Annie feels a flutter in her chest. "You look beautiful. These flowers don't measure up in comparison but, they're for you." He hands them over and Annie blushes at his compliment.

"Thank you, they're lovely. Let me put them in water and we can head out, okay?" He nods and follows her to the kitchen as she locates a vase. He ushers her out the door, a hand on her back, and they both call out a goodbye over their shoulders to the boys left behind.

* * *

She didn't know what Jeff had planned but she's suitably impressed. The Parks department is hosting a Movie Night in the Park and they're playing Notorious (1946) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman but Jeff assures her it's romantic and intriguing and Annie doesn't bother telling him that she would give anything with Cary Grant a try at least twice.

Jeff pulls out a blanket and a basket, borrowed from Shirley he whispers, and really, it's better than anything Annie could have imagined. The meal isn't gourmet but Jeff thought to get a picnic basket and that's all Annie really needs to declare the date a win for Jeff. Not out loud, of course, because he doesn't need to know that. _Yet._ They eat and talk and laugh and the two hours before the movie starts pass before Annie even thinks to check the time.

It's just past 11PM when the movie finishes and Annie doesn't really want the night to end. It's a bit cliché but as far as first dates go, this one was fabulous. That giddy feeling isn't something she wants to let go of and when Jeff suggests a nightcap, Annie decides to channel Ingrid Bergman's Alicia and she agrees.

* * *

The soft sheets beneath her, the warm arm slung heavy over her hips as the bright sunshine filters in through loosely closed blinds and the startling feelings of delight and happiness all work in perfect harmony to make Annie smile as she stretches lightly. It's better than anything she could've imagined, she's certain.

Seconds later, she's gently rolled over and sees Jeff's sleepy face smiling back at her. They manage to stay occupied for the rest of the morning and Annie knows for sure she was right.


End file.
